Top 15 Fantasy Quarterbacks: Fantasy Football 2009

Here is an expert ranking of the top 15 NFL quarterbacks for your 2009 fantasy football draft! Good luck! Draft wisely! Don't draft Favre! He'll burn you!

1. Drew Brees

New Orleans Saints

If Brees is not #1 on your quarterback list, you need to throw that list in the garbage. Even when his favorite targets, Marques Colston and Reggie Bush, were out with injuries last season, Brees didn't miss a beat and was still able to compile over 5,000 yards passing. He is as money as money can get in the fantasy quarterback world. If you're drafting late in the 1^st round, you may even want to give up the typical first round running back to land Brees if he is still on the board. It will definitely be worth it.

2. Philip Rivers

San Diego Chargers

Rivers has gradually been working his way up the quarterback totem pole. His 4000+ yards passing last season was impressive, but what was even more impressive was his touchdown to interception ratio-Rivers tossed 34 touchdowns while suffering only 11 interceptions. VERY NICE. Try to find another quarterback who threw threes times as many touchdowns as interceptions. (you won't)

3. Kurt Warner

Arizona Cardinals

Yeah, sure, Kurt is not getting any younger, but you can't ignore how great of a situation he is in. He plays in sunny Arizona and has the best receiver in football, hands down. Larry Fitzgerald is simply God. Just throw him the ball and he WILL get it! Throw in the fact that Warner plays in a very weak division (49ers, Rams, Seahawks) and he becomes an automatic top 5 quarterback. It's amazing to think there was once a quarterback controversy between him and Matt Leinart. That's comical!

4. Matt Ryan

Atlanta Falcons

Ryan seems to be in the perfect situation for a quarterback. He plays in a dome, he has a great running game (Michael Turner) to keep defenders honest, he has a brilliant receiver in Roddy White who can even catch balls in tight double coverage, and he now has arguably the best tight end in football, Tony Gonzalez. You can't go wrong here. Matt Ryan, along with this entire organization, is only going one direction . . .UP!!

5. Aaron Rodgers

Green Bay Packers

The Packers may not have had a great record in their first post-Favre season, but it was clear that it was not the fault of Rodgers. He threw for an un-Favre like 13 interceptions in 536 passing attempts. One would have to assume that Favre would have at least 20 or 22 interceptions with the same number of attempts. In addition to the lack of interception, Rodgers threw for over 4,000 yards and 28 touchdowns. And if that doesn't impress you enough, then how about a little rushing game for gravy? Last season, Rodgers rushed for over 200 yards rushing, along with 4 rushing touchdowns.

6. Peyton Manning

Indianapolis Colts

Peyton may not match some of his older numbers, but he is still one of the most solid and reliable quarterbacks in the league. Not only is he consistent, but he stays injury-free and he plays in a offense-friendly atmosphere, as he has the pleasure of playing inside a dome just like Brees. Manning may feel weird not having Marvin Harrison to throw to this year, but with the all-star efforts of Reggie Wayne, along with the reliable hands of Dallas Clark, and the emergence of Anthony Gonzalez, you should not have much to worry about if Manning is your starting QB.

7. Tom Brady

New England Patriots

Brady is a gifted and competitive athlete and if you think that an injury is going to set him back, then think again. He STILL has Randy Moss and he STILL has Wes Welker . . . and he appears to be fully recovered from last year's devastating season-ending injury. It may be a slight risk taking him due to all of the rust and the uncertainty he will have when taking the first couple of hits, but even so, he is a much better pick than 80% of the other quarterbacks out there.

8. Tony Romo

Dallas Cowboys

Tony has virtually written the same script every season. He starts off with a bang and looks like a rock star, but when clutch time comes, Romo folds. He has consistently struggled in the month of December, which does not bode well for a team looking to make a nice run in their fantasy playoffs, as this is this about the same time that playoffs start! True, he no longer has the drama from Terrell Owens to deal with, (nor does he have Jessica!) but some believe the December failures would be present regardless if he has T.O. or not. To make matters worse, Dallas has a very difficult December schedule this season, as they play at home against the San Diego Chargers and Philadelphia Eagles, and have very tough road matchups versus the New Orleans Saints, Washington Redskins, and New York Giants. Romo's fantasy stock has definitely taken a hit.

9. Matt Schaub

Houston Texans

Matt is another one of those guys that is steadily climbing up the ranks of quarterbacks. He is surrounded by a solid and consistent core of players, including Andre Johnson, Steve Slaton, and a surprising playmaker in Kevin Walter. As long as he has protection (unlike Houston's former QB, David Carr), then he will consistently produce for you. Matt has the ability to toss up huge numbers, as was evident last year, as he threw for over 370 yards against Miami . . . and a mere 414 yards against Green Bay.

10. Matt Hasselbeck

Seattle Seahawks

This could be the biggest turnaround season for any quarterback. Matt only played in 7 games last season, in which he threw for twice as many interceptions as touchdowns. Very nasty. But give the guy a break . . . his receivers went down with injuries every two minutes!! This season, all of the receivers are starting off on a healthy note. Nate Burleson and Deion Branch appear 100% again and they are now joined by ex-Bengal, T.J. Houshmanzadeh, who is one of the premier receivers in the league. If not for playing on a poor team, with a showboat teammate (OchoCinco), T.J. would have gained A LOT more recognition in this league. And once again, you have to throw in the "weak defensive division" factor, which definitely goes in the favor of Matt. His numbers may pleasantly surprise you this year.

11. Donovan McNabb

Philadelphia Eagles.

McNabb is always a scary pick. When he is on, HE IS ON. But when he is off, he is HORRIFIC. There is the McNabb who had a 5-game span where he threw 6 scores and 7 interceptions. Then there is the McNabb that produced 9 touchdowns and just 1 interception in the next 5 games after that dismal span. What McNabb will you get? God only knows?

12. Ben Roethlisberger

Pittsburgh Steelers

Ben has that old Troy Aikman effect. He wins a lot of games . . . he wins Super Bowl trophies . . . and he has highly talented receivers, but doesn't put out consistent fantasy numbers. Ben had 5 games last season in which he threw for ZERO touchdowns. Only once did he toss for more than two. Like Aikman, Ben will go down as a GREAT NFL quarterback, but just a "SO-SO" fantasy quarterback.

13. Jay Cutler

Chicago Bears

Jay undoubtedly is taking the biggest fantasy hit among all quarterbacks. He goes from a very offensive-minded scheme in Denver to a colder and windier setting in Chicago. The air is a little different (a little heavier) in Chicago, and the receiving staff will be different, too . . . Cutler will be going from Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal . . . to Devin Hester and Rashied Davis? Ouch! Let's face it . . . no matter how good a quarterback you may be, Chicago is not the place to be if you want to rack up ridiculous yards and touchdowns. Cutler will not come close to producing the same results that he did in Denver. And even if by some chance he does start out on fire, he will most likely hurt in your playoff run, as conditions in Chicago will not be very suitable for huge passing games in December (three of the Bears' last five games will be in Chicago and one will be in Baltimore).

14. Trent Edwards

Buffalo Bills

It'd be impossible to leave this guy out of the top 15 after the Bills acquired Terrell Owens. Love him or hate him, T.O. has game. True, Edwards still has some weak spots he needs to improve on, but with T.O., Lee Evans, Marshawn Lynch, and Fred Jackson, it'd be hard to imagine Edwards having a hard time putting up some scores!

15. Kyle Orton

Denver Broncos

Despite being on a Bears team that played in some rough weather and virtually had no wide receivers, Orton was still able to put up 2 or more touchdowns in 7 games. Orton will probably not mirror the numbers that Cutler put up in Denver, but he may come closer than you think, especially if Brandon Marshall stays put. Going from Chicago to Denver should make any quarterback look better . . . the question is . . . HOW MUCH better???

*all statistics obtained from Yahoo Sports